You Call It Q&A's - June 14, 2000

Dr. Wayne Wray 6/14/2000

Previous You Call It Q&A's - June 14, 2000 You are center referee in a game where the blue team has been bombarded with shots from the white team, the white team pushes forward and mounts an attack of its own. No score results and as the blue team comes back down the field you realize that there is a different keeper in the goal (wearing appropriate attire) than you last remember. What should you do? Congratulations Mike Sherwin of Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire, England this Weeks Winner

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Actions: 1. Continue play until next stoppage of the game (or when the ball is next out of play).

2. Caution and show yellow card to the players concerned (old and new goalkeepers), for changing places without your ( the referee's) permission (Law 3. LOTG, p. 14). You may want to check with the AR nearest to the goalkeeper's side to confirm goalkeeper changes if you have some doubt about what happened.

3. The new keeper can still continue in the game after the caution since he is wearing the appropriate attire.

4. Restart the game normally according to what stopped play.

Answer submitted by Ian Fradsham of Charlottetown PEI, Canada

As Law 3 says... Allow play to continue and at the next stoppage caution all players concerned. In this case two cautions would be warranted, 1 to the original goalkeeper, and the 2nd to the player now acting as the goalkeeper. Restart with the natural restart from the stoppage.

It is an offence for the goalkeeper and another player to exchange places with each other without the permission of the referee. Also, this exchange may only be allowed at a stoppage in the game.

So, at the next stoppage in play, the referee should verify whether an illegal exchange has occurred, and if this is found to be in fact the case, he shall be required to caution and show the yellow card to both the original goalkeeper and the new goalkeeper. A player who recieves a second caution must also be show the red card and sent off for a second cautionable offence.

It is also important to note that if an illegal exchange of goalkeepers has occurred, then for the purposes of the game, the player who is wearing the goalkeeper's shirt shall be deemed to be the goalkeeper even though the referee did not grant the permission for the exchange. Therefore, the brand new goalkeeper may handle the ball within his own penalty area whilst the original goalkeeper may not legally do so.

Answer submitted by Sherman Whipple of Hingham MA, USA

While the question does not indicate whether it was the Blue or White keeper, this is irelevant. If, a field player has changed with the keeper during play and without notifying the referee, then the referee should wait for the next stoppage, caution both players for unsporting behavior, and allow play to restart with the new keeper. This is a manditory caution.

A Note From The Assessor

Some of you mentioned that had substitute entered the field of play without your permission you would stop play to administer a caution. That is correct. This question assumes that two player exchanged positions.

The referee must allow play to continue until the next time the ball is out of play. At that point he must caution and show the yellow card to both of the players involved in the switch (Law 3, LOTG 1999/2000). This is not discretionary, but one of the eight mandatory cautions.

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